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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27937897">The Lone Wolf of the Whispering Woods</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cloudiana/pseuds/Cloudiana'>Cloudiana</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Full Moon Fever [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adora (She-Ra) Needs a Hug, Alternate Universe - Catra is She-Ra, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Anxious Adora (She-Ra), F/F, Gen, Horde Adora (She-Ra), Horde Adora Leaves the Horde, Magicatra AU, Shadow Weaver | Light Spinner (She-Ra)'s A+ Parenting, Vigilante Adora, Werewolf Adora</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 22:15:06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,916</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27937897</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cloudiana/pseuds/Cloudiana</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Still keeping her head down after deserting the Horde, former Force Captain and current werewolf Adora goes into town to buy supplies and meet with a contact for information that could help her in her next mission. But, she might be more recognizable than she hoped.</p><p>Another in a series of one-shots in my AU Verse where Catra is She-Ra and Adora is a werewoof vigilante.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adora &amp; Double Trouble (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Full Moon Fever [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2045827</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>39</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>195</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Lone Wolf of the Whispering Woods</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“She was with the Horde!”<br/>
<br/>
The ex-Force Captain froze. <em>There were six people in the general store she could see. Probably more in the back. The door was 20 feet behind her. The speaker who identified her was within 5 feet at 3 o' clock, in the way. If she could hit them with the cast iron pan sitting by her right hand she could probably make a break for it before —</em><br/>
<br/>
“Yes, Tim, She-Ra was with the Horde.” The exasperated voice brought Adora back to reality before any head trauma could be inflicted. “Congratulations on being the last person in Etheria to learn that.”<br/>
<br/>
Still spooked, Adora rushed to grab the supplies she’d come into the town for. <em>5 lbs dried fruit, 1 pack of sewing needles, 20 oz bottle of iodine, and a bottle of 180 proof pure grain alcohol.</em> The list came easily, memorized with the same rigor she once reserved for her training schedule or marching orders. She still felt a small thrill whenever she used the discipline and planning the Horde instilled in her for her own ends. And it was almost enough to drown out the shame that always followed when she thought about her time there.<br/>
<br/>
Especially here. There weren’t many towns in and around the Whispering Woods that she hadn’t led an attack on, either as the Beast, feral under the full moon, or as the Force Captain, desperate to prove to everyone that she wasn’t just a dumb animal. That she could get her revenge on the princesses even without . . . without her. She shuddered to think which identity had done more damage.<br/>
<br/>
Adora pushed the thoughts down as she walked to the register as naturally as possible. She’d have plenty of time to process her self-loathing when she got back to the Woods. She knew from experience that it was a lot easier to do that without the need to act normal around others. Besides, clawing her feelings out on a Horde patrol always made her feel better.<br/>
<br/>
The storekeeper was almost too preoccupied with watching the child scribbling furiously at the little desk in the corner. They couldn’t have been older than 8 or 9 by the looks of it - the same age she was when she got cursed, when the Horde found her. The storekeeper looked at the kid like they would vanish if she took her eyes of them.<br/>
<br/>
When she finally realized she had a customer waiting, the storekeeper’s eyes kept flitting back to the kid in the corner, but they never looked up from their work except to switch which tiny colored sticks she was using, sticking their tongue out due to the force of their concentration.<br/>
<br/>
The storekeeper flashed a warm grin as she tallied her bill. “Stocking up on <em>moonshine,</em> are we?” In the Horde, there would have been an unspoken <em>mutt</em> trailing after that phrase.  Unless she had been Adora' superior officer. Then it would have spoken.<br/>
<br/>
Less than three months ago, Adora would have dove over the counter and choke-slammed her to ground. Instead, she returned a forced smile, almost not bothering to hide her fangs. The storekeeper was just making a bad pun. Adora wasn’t the first werewolf she’d met.<br/>
<br/>
“Just need something to clean the cuts with.” Werewolf healing was a miracle, but it couldn’t do much for infections. With what she had planned for later this month, she needed to be prepared.<br/>
<br/>
The storekeeper laughed politely. “Just don’t open this by the bonfire if you want to keep your eyebrows.” <em>Bonfire</em>. She’d heard them mentioned around her a few times now. Adora mentally filed the term under “Wolf Stuff”.<br/>
<br/>
Not much was known about the Packs, the nomadic wolves that wandered Etheria - a nation without borders. Other than their special tie to Brightmoon, Adora could only find conflicting rumors. In the Horde, she’d been taught that the Packs were vicious, bloodthirsty monsters at the Alliance’s command. There had been a whole segment on them (and her) at Force Captain Orientation. But, given how much of what she’d thought she’d been taught about Etheria turned out to be propaganda, Adora had decided to do her own research.<br/>
<br/>
Not that she had any interest in joining the Packs, she thought to herself as she packed her purchases in her canvas duffle and walked out of the store. Adora was so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn’t notice that he child looked up at her and gasped.<br/>
<br/>
The cold winter air cleared her head as soon as it hit her. As much as she was curious about other wolves, they weren’t her people.<br/>
<br/>
The wolves had killed her people. And she hadn’t been strong enough to stop them.<br/>
<br/>
She still has nightmares about the attack on her town. It was mostly just flashes- odd sense memories: the smell of a roast they were cooking, the sound of her parents’ footsteps as they tried to run, the glowing red eyes of the giant grey wolf that cornered them. And the pain of course. Adora had more scars than she could count, but she knew exactly which bite marks and scratches came from that night. They were the ones that always hurt when she woke up.<br/>
<br/>
She allowed herself to brood as she walked to the tavern to meet her contact - a former friend? <em>No</em>. Ally? <em>No</em>. Dubiously reliable work acquaintance? <em>That’s it.</em> Combined with the loose red flannel, heavy black jacket, and duffle sling over her shoulder, a good thoughtful scowl really sold people on the “brooding loner from the woods you don’t want to make eye contact with” vibe she was going for. It was safer that way. Never knew who might recognize her.<br/>
<br/>
For six years, she went on Horde raids every full moon. She couldn’t remember much from the first attacks, when she was barely 14. Given how many times she woke up after them with the taste of blood in her mouth, it was probably a mercy. She remembers how excited she was before her first mission - how jealous Catra and the rest of her squad were that she got to see action while the rest of them were stuck running drills in the simulator.<br/>
<br/>
Then, she saw the collar in Shadow Weaver’s hands. <em>Can’t have you going wild, now can we?</em><br/>
<br/>
Then, she saw the village. Not a rebel fortress. Not an evil werewolf den. Just a civilian town. Like hers. <em>Part of the Alliance.</em> She told her. <em>No one is innocent.</em><br/>
<br/>
She pushed down her shame for years. Convinced herself that all the hurt would be worth it when she took Brightmoon, defeated the Princesses and the Packs, and made sure that they could never do to anyone else what they did to her. She would be brave. She would be strong. Adora would do whatever it took to make sure she was never weak again.<br/>
<br/>
<em>And look where that got you.</em><br/>
<br/>
It had been three months since she left the Horde. Burning her bridges by tearing a werewolf-shaped hole through the Fright Zone to save Catra, after she herself had kidnapped her friends to lure her back there no less. She couldn’t bring herself to join the Alliance. No matter how many times Catra swore her new friends had nothing to do with the raid on her village, she knew what she saw that night. That memory was as clear as the Brightmoon crests branded on the wolves’ pelts. The Horde weren’t the only liars on Etheria.<br/>
<br/>
So, Adora had resolved to find out the truth for herself, and do as much good as possible in the meantime, which led her to the Flopping Razorfin, the sleaziest tavern in town. The smell hit her first: sour and smoky. The place was cramped -dark, low ceilings, lots of small groups huddled at tiny tables. Her eyes adjusted quickly to the low light as she made her way to the bar.<br/>
<br/>
Adora leaned on the rough wood and waited for her contact to arrive. Might as well get a drink first, she thought. Her contact wasn’t easy to deal with sober. Not that she had been anything but sober in the Horde, but hey - if she failed at being a hero, she could at least try to do a good job at being shifty, lowlife scum.<br/>
<br/>
Before she was able to ask the bartender for “one alcohol”, someone pressed a dagger against her ribs. An older man with a grizzled, dark beard had joined her at the bar. Anyone looking at his rough beige clothes and silver badge would guess he was a Brightmoon Hunter. “Well, well, well,” he taunted in a gruff growl. “The Beast of the Horde in my little pub. It must be my lucky day.” He pressed the dagger in harder and leaned in to her ear. “Got anything to say for yourself, <em>monster</em>?” He whispered.<br/>
<br/>
Adora turned her head slightly to face the hunter. Without breaking eye contact, she sniffed twice and smiled. “Good to see you, Double Trouble.”<br/>
<br/>
The hunter sighed dramatically and rolled their eyes. “You can seriously smell me though all this, doggo?” Their voice went up in pitch as they gestured broadly to the tavern. “I even stole this outfit for authenticity. That’s just cheating.”<br/>
<br/>
The wolf shrugged and tapped her nose. “Only thing that never lies to me. Now, you got the information I need?”<br/>
<br/>
DT shook their head. “Still all work and no play.” They groaned. “You’d think abandoning everything you’ve ever worked for would loosen you up a bit. Or make you a train wreck, either would be fun.”<br/>
<br/>
“I’ve kept myself busy the last few months,” she said as they guided her to a booth in the back corner.<br/>
<br/>
“That you have,” they responded as they settled in, theatrically producing a piece of paper from their long hunting coat. Adora couldn’t keep from biting her lip as she stared at the familiar face on the wanted poster. It was an old photo, taken right after she’d been promoted to Force Captain - right after Catra found that sword.<br/>
<br/>
Based on the last time she’d caught her reflection in an icy stream, she wouldn’t be immediately recognizable from the poster alone. The Adora on the poster didn’t have a set of claw marks trailing on the side of her jaw for one. She looked confident, sure and steady - certain of the world and her place in it. <em>Idiot.</em><br/>
<br/>
She also had long, tied back, regulation style hair instead of a hastily cut mess. Adora had figured the heat would be off by the time it grew back out.<br/>
<br/>
Given the number of trailing zeroes on her bounty, that might have been overly optimistic. DT must have noticed too. “Can’t blame them, really. That little escapade of yours at that prison camp the last full moon really cost the Horde a pretty penny. They do so hate it when their mining operations are disrupted.” They leaned across the table, bearing a set of fangs that rivaled her own. “Now, remind me why I’m not collecting on that payday?”<br/>
<br/>
Adora ruffled through her duffle bag and pulled out a bottle wrapped in a loose rag, that she had scavenged from an old ruin. She’d been disappointed at first when the secret compartment which she could somehow read the password to turned out to contain nothing but ancient, non-medical grade alcohol, but her attitude changed when she remembered a certain mercenary lizard with a taste for the finer things. Their reptilian eyes lit up when they saw the engraved crystal bottle and the burgundy liquid swirling inside it, but she pulled it back as they reached for it.<br/>
<br/>
“Now,” she growled, displaying her own fangs. “Remind me why I’m not tying up loose ends?”<br/>
<br/>
DT threw up their hands and flipped over the wanted poster to reveal a batch of small print on the back. “I present to you, an updated list of Horde passwords, entrance codes, and encryption keys in use at all Horde facilities in this sector.” They gave a little seated bow. She eagerly scanned the paper as they scooped up the bottle. “Don’t forget, those codes are only good for so long. If you ever need more . . .”<br/>
<br/>
Adora waved them off. “Then, I know who to call.” She kept studying the codes as they got up to leave.<br/>
<br/>
“Stay safe, doggo.” For a moment, they almost looked sincere. Then, before she could say anything appreciative in response, they jiggled the bottle playfully. “I wouldn’t want to lose my best supplier!” They laughed as their voice shifted back to the gruff impersonation they’d opened the meeting with.<br/>
<br/>
Adora waited at the booth a while before heading out herself. She would do the bulk of planning back at her den, where she had a full cork-board to chart out her moves, but she could at least start memorizing the passwords at the tavern.<br/>
<br/>
It was a bold plan - a lot more ambitious than just tearing up a prison camp while fully transformed. Though, she shuddered to think how good a full moon without a shock collar around her neck had felt. How <em>free</em> she had been. The crunch of Horde artillery under her claws had been pretty satisfying too.<br/>
<br/>
Hordak would be lucky if he could make any new armor before next Fall after what she’d done, she chuckled to herself. Adora knew firsthand how tricky it was to manage soldiers without proper supplies.<br/>
<br/>
As she was waking out, she passed the storekeeper entering at the door, with her kid trailing close behind. <em>Weird coincidence</em>, she thought before the storekeeper caught her by the jacket.<br/>
<br/>
She froze. “Did you really think no one would recognize you?” The storekeeper asked as her kid fiddled with a piece of paper. Her heart stopped when she realized what it was - her wanted poster. <em>I’m not going to another cage</em>. The thought was clear. If this was the day when she paid the price for her denial, for her arrogance, for all her crimes in the Horde - it would have to be the ultimate one. <em>Not another cage. Not another cage. Not another—</em><br/>
<br/>
The storekeeper was smiling. <em>Why was she smiling? Why wasn’t she calling the guards? Why wasn’t she—</em><br/>
<br/>
“I never thought I’d see Jade again after the Horde took us captive.” Her calm voice interrupted the wolf’s spiraling. Only then did she notice that the pair had the same scars around their necks as she did - from the same kind of collar. “Then <em>she</em> came.”<br/>
<br/>
“Don’t worry,” the child piped up, noticing her distress. “We’ll keep your secret.” She held up the poster, turning it around to show a colorful drawing on the back. It was simple, but unmistakable: a giant werewolf, with fur colored in every shade of yellow, smashing a spiky fence, with a crowd of jump-suited stick figures smiling and cheering in the background - and a few fleeing Horde soldiers in the foreground, frowny faces plastered over their helmets. The child stood up on their tiptoes, handed her the drawing, and whispered loudly, “Thank you, Lone Wolf.”<br/>
<br/>
Adora pushed back tears as she clutched the drawing to her chest. She nodded to them both with the seriousness she reserved for superior officers, barely managing to meet their eyes, as if the thankfulness in them would burn her like silver. She rushed out of town as fast as possible, ignoring the funny looks she got from the town guards.<br/>
<br/>
It was only when she was alone in the Whispering Woods again that she allowed herself to breathe. <em>You don’t deserve it</em>. A familiar voice scolded. <em>You probably put them in that prison camp, mutt.</em><br/>
<br/>
She knew the voice was telling the truth. She wasn’t worthy, not unless she could keep everyone safe. But she told the voice to shut up regardless. The closer she got to her den, the more she allowed herself to daydream.<br/>
<br/>
The Lone Wolf. She liked the sound of that. No ties. No history. No name. Not Adora - the Beast or the Force Captain. Just a . . . protector. A force for good. A wolf, alone, who kept people safe.<br/>
<br/>
<em>So maybe,</em> She thought to herself as she entered the crystal walls of her makeshift den (located in one of the many ruins she had found scattered in the Woods),<em> I could be the Lone Wolf for a while. </em>No one needed Adora anyway. <em>Least of all</em> — it was at that moment, pinning the drawing to the cork board in the back of the cave that she noticed another tiny but unmistakable figure in the background: a golden cat in white armor, lifting a sword over her head.<br/>
<br/>
She shuddered.<em> Least of all her</em>.<br/>
<br/>
Maybe someday — no. She cut off the wistful thinking there. <em>Catra doesn’t need you, so Catra doesn’t want you . . . Not in the way you want her.</em><br/>
<br/>
The most she could hope for now was to get the truth, and maybe make up for all the damage she’d done along the way. Then, she’d get justice for her people and suffer whatever consequences she was due. Against whom she’d get justice was unclear, but she’d make whoever was responsible for their deaths pay.<br/>
<br/>
And the first step to doing that, she thought as she surveyed her plans, is getting a few poorly secured personnel records from a Horde base near Plumeria.<br/>
<br/>
The Lone Wolf chucked to herself. The next full moon was going to be fun</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this story. If you did, a kudos or comment would be a godsend!</p><p>One of the great joys of writing. Is making a weirdly specific AU fic and seeing it get a great response. So, a wacky one-shot will now be the jumping off point for more works. How many? Good question. I don’t know.</p><p>I can’t promise a full novel-length, multi chapter series, since I have no free time and tend to burn out like an old lightbulb. So, this series will just be one-shots. Short stories that tell a complete, self-contained tale only. </p><p>This verse is very fun to write stories in. I've been focusing on the feels so far, but when I return, I hope to include some werewoof action. </p><p>As always, I would love to get feedback on pacing, flow, and dialogue. Did the ending feel natural? Was the story fun to read? Stuff like that.</p><p>Thanks again for reading. Stay safe.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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